which multi fx to buy???

hi people, im currently using a yamaha bbn5 and an epiphone thunderbird (main), through an old mk 4 peavey (i know its old but hey its loud ) i have a few quid to fork out on stuff (about £800) so i am stuck on weather to get a BOD live, behringer vamp pro + floor board, or something else.

what i am after is a john entwistle(i got most of the tech nailed but need the drive) and a roger waters wall/animals era tone.

Honestly, figure out what effects you'll use for that sound, and see about getting single effects.

My experience is that multi FX units are truly jacks of all trades. They do lots of sounds, and some are hit or miss.

I've played with the BOSS G-6B, various iterations of the POD, Zoom, Digitech, etc... The things I've noticed is you spend SO much time finding a sound that is... adequate... I never found a sound on either the POD or the BOSS that I was truly pleased with. I'd switch around between presets, and even though they had different amp models, or different effects, whatever, it was all filtered through the same DSP which colored the sound.

It's like watching TV on a screen that has problems with the green gun, so no matter how good the rest of the screen is, it still has that miscoloration.

So, I'd figure out what effects you'll use, and get single units that will make that sound. In the long run, you'll likely be happier, even if takes longer to build your pedal board, or you can't get THAT sound right now.

I just recently decided to get back into using effects in my live rig, and I just went out (today, actually) and picked up a Boss ME50B. I have tried it a few times in the store, and done an a/b against the G6B, and found that this one was the easiest to get real, usable sounds out of. I have no use for amp modeling, so I didn't need all the extra bells and whistles of the G6B.

I have been playing around with it for awhile now, and have already found several extremely usable effects on it with very minimal tweaking. I haven't gotten into saving patches yet, but it looks to be easy enough.

It seems heavily built, is fairly compact, and so far has been easy enough to use.

I second the ME-50B. I have used it for a year or so live and it has been good to me. I was using it in manual mode up until last night. I made some presets that I wanted to try out and everything would have worked out but I forgot where I stored some of them. What I did was set up each bank with the first switch being just a regular straight sound and the other two were patches I needed for certain songs. This way no matter what bank I was in I could always get to a clean sound if all hell broke loose.

I second the ME-50B. I have used it for a year or so live and it has been good to me. I was using it in manual mode up until last night. I made some presets that I wanted to try out and everything would have worked out but I forgot where I stored some of them. What I did was set up each bank with the first switch being just a regular straight sound and the other two were patches I needed for certain songs. This way no matter what bank I was in I could always get to a clean sound if all hell broke loose.

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Hey, that's not a bad idea at all. I am gonna have to remember that when and if I decide to program patches on mine, instead of just using individual effects.

Hey, that's not a bad idea at all. I am gonna have to remember that when and if I decide to program patches on mine, instead of just using individual effects.

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It works pretty good if you have a switch to change banks. I built a double one for about $10 in RadioShack parts. You don't have to use one but it beats bending down and pressing the bank buttons with your fingers. Also if you use just one switch you can only scroll in one direction so if you are on bank 2 you would have to go all the way through 3-8 until you get back to 1 but it will take you back.
I did notice that there is a slight pause when changing presets. If you use a patch for an entire song it works out but if you need to change during a song you might want to do it in between notes.

thanks for the feedback guys, im prob gonna have to look about my local guitar shops (not easy with the missus in a wheelchair and most bass sections of the shops being on other floors, but hey) and try more stuff out. i used to use a zoom 3000b when i was gigging loads a few yrs back and i really liked the phaser and delays but the drives were awful.

thanks for the feedback guys, im prob gonna have to look about my local guitar shops (not easy with the missus in a wheelchair and most bass sections of the shops being on other floors, but hey) and try more stuff out. i used to use a zoom 3000b when i was gigging loads a few yrs back and i really liked the phaser and delays but the drives were awful.

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If that is what I thing it is money wise (about $1200?) I wouldn't use it to buy effects. Take that chunk of change and upgrade your amp set up. You can get a very nice Demeter/QSC set up for that, EBS Eden or what ever tickles your fancy.

Your sound will only be as good as your weakest link. Take your old rig and sell it, then get pedals with that.

If that is what I thing it is money wise (about $1200?) I wouldn't use it to buy effects. Take that chunk of change and upgrade your amp set up. You can get a very nice Demeter/QSC set up for that, EBS Eden or what ever tickles your fancy.

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well actually the amp is still rather tasty and does the job, and have you tried getting the above amps in the UK ? they are like gold dust and rather expensive, more than i have eg.Eden CXC1015 is £1,125.00 i could have a status buzzard for a few more £, and those amps are far to bright and crisp for a gritty drivey tone i think.

well actually the amp is still rather tasty and does the job, and have you tried getting the above amps in the UK ? they are like gold dust and rather expensive, more than i have eg.Eden CXC1015 is £1,125.00 i could have a status buzzard for a few more £, and those amps are far to bright and crisp for a gritty drivey tone i think.

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I think you could probably buy from a reputable dealer in the US used and have your basses covered. Even an Ampeg.

But if you like Peavy..well...like Isaid, whatever tickles your fancy.